


Secret Smile

by orphan_account



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Death!, Depressing, F/M, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Sorry, One-Sided Attraction, Regrets, Roses For The Dead, Short One Shot, Song Based, Why Did I Write This?, too late
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-05
Updated: 2014-11-05
Packaged: 2018-02-24 04:23:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2568083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Memories, Death and Regrets...I'm terrible at summaries.</p><p>Loosely based on the song "Secret Smile" by Semisonic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Secret Smile

**Author's Note:**

> Please don't hate me! I love angsty depressing things. Comment please!

Ronald Knox was closer to his mentor than anyone realized. Around him, Grelle had let her flamboyant visage dissolve. Ronald had gotten to know her as she really was. Lonely, sad….broken. He had learned Grelle’s story, all but for one detail. He knew she had had a family, that her marriage had fallen apart. Ronald knew everything, except for how her human life had ended. As much as he wanted to know, Ronald hadn’t pressed her. He knew how hard it was to talk about your own death. Over time, he found his feelings for his mentor had changed, growing from awe to something else. Not that Ronald had ever let on, Grelle had always been head over heels for the boss. He was fine with Grelle never knowing, but Ronald resented William for receiving her attention and never reciprocating. Rain fell on the young man’s two-toned head as he walked into the solemn building. The drops hid his tears.

William Spears stood in the corner of the dark room. His face held his usual mask, but his eyes glistened with unshed tears. _That smile. Why did she have to look at me like that?_ William had never realized how much is day revolved around the fiery explosion that was Grelle Sutcliff. She would have visited him that morning. When his door had opened that morning, he had almost called out to her, but it was only his secretary. _Why_?

William jumped slightly when Ronald touched his shoulder, having been so lost in thought he hadn’t seen him approach.

“Ronald,” He nodded at the younger man, not trusting himself to say more.

Ronald looked at his supervisor, still so cold, so unmoved. His hands formed into fists. “Spears, did you ever notice?”

William blinked, “Notice what?” _Spears? Ronald has always been the most formal, so…_

“I suppose you didn’t. The way she looked at you. I know you probably thought she was just a nuisance, but she really loved you.”

William sighed and said quietly, “I knew.”  He turned to look at Ronald. He was surprised to find that he was crying, “I knew, and I was a fool. And now it’s too late.”  The supervisor ran a hand through his hair, freeing it from it’s slicked back state.

“I still don’t understand…” Ronald felt his anger dissipate, how could he be angry now? At a man who was obviously as confused as he was. “She loved you the entire time, from your final exam, to now...” Ronald couldn’t finish his sentence.

“She smiled,” William’s voice was thick with emotion, a rare thing for the stoic man.

Ronald was confused, “What?”

“She smiled at me. Not the wolfish grin of battle, but a genuine smile.”

Ronald’s confusion disappeared, “She was happy. She was with you, and I’m willing to bet you weren’t just being a cold hearted bastard to her.”

William shook his head, “I didn’t deserve her love.”

He pulled the crimson rose from his lapel and walked through the crowd. They parted, and a hush rolled over the room. William laid the flower on the mahogany lid that would forever more shield the once vibrant reaper from the world that had done it’s best to beat her. _Farewell_. He turned and left the building, not caring that his face was still streaked with tears.


End file.
